01Oct16

Colombians See Vote as a Means to Secure Peace, if Not Justice

After 52 years of armed conflict, there are hopes of peace in Colombia.

The first lady had a small dove tattooed on her wrist. University students
decorated once-bombed buildings with white balloons as a symbol of peace.
People talk of an end to the crushing violence that has long racked this
country.

But at the same time, as they prepare for a referendum on Sunday on a
peace deal reached by the government and the country's largest rebel group,
the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, many
Colombians are also expressing doubt and resentment.

Billboards have been erected bearing the face of the FARC leader, Rodrigo
Londoño, who uses the alias Timochenko, warning about the possibility that
he could become president. Many of those victimized by the rebels complain
that justice was not done. And former presidents have banded together to
denounce the deal.

Walter Coronado, 36, a factory worker in Bogotá, the capital, was chased by
the rebels from his ranch in Tolima, a province in the center of the country, in
1998. To him, the agreement "is unfair, a vile lie, a blasphemy."

"It's not fair for them not to go to prison without repentance," Mr. Coronado
said. "We should negotiate with truth, justice. These murderers should pay."

The peace deal would bring an end to a conflict marked by massacres of
civilians by the rebels, paramilitaries and the state. Some 250,000 people
died, five million were displaced, and more than 25,000 disappeared.

Despite the bitterness left by that legacy, many Colombians long for peace,
and polls indicate that the peace deal will easily win approval this weekend.

Rosa Silva, 70, who sells corn to tourists for feeding the pigeons in the Plaza
de Bolívar, the main square in Bogotá, moved here 20 years ago from Achí, a
rural town in the coastal province of Bolívar, after the father of her children
was kidnapped and murdered. She said she would vote for the agreement, "to
stop the killing of innocent people, to put an end to so much violence."

For Colombians, the changes of the past week have been dizzying.

First, the FARC rebels gathered in the Amazonian region for their last national
conference as an armed organization. After the usual workshops and outdoor
concerts, the rebels ratified the peace deal and promised to lay down their
weapons.

Then, on Monday, President Juan Manuel Santos and Mr. Londoño signed the
final agreement in Cartagena in the presence of Ban Ki-moon, the secretary
general of the United Nations, shaking hands in a scene once unthinkable for
generations of Colombians. Mr. Londoño acknowledged the FARC's
responsibility in the war and asked victims of the conflict for forgiveness.

The peace deal is a road map for the FARC to rejoin Colombian society,
outlining a series of reforms aimed at bringing the rebels into the political
system, addressing drug trafficking through crop substitution and allowing for
reduced prison sentences for rebels who lay down their arms. It would also
establish a system of reparations for victims of the conflict.

Humberto de la Calle, the chief negotiator for the government, said the
agreement would "recover rural areas, improve our political system and
contribute to solving the drug problem," which "is something that should
matter to all Colombians."

The disarming of the guerrilla group, which at last count numbered roughly
7,000 rebels, will be verified by the United Nations. After signing the
agreement, the FARC has 180 days to deliver all its weapons, which will be
melted down into three monuments: one in Cuba, where the agreement was
reached; one at United Nations headquarters in New York; and one in
Colombia.

The guerrillas will be grouped in "transition" areas throughout the country to
begin their adjustment to civilian life. They will be paid about $210 a month
for two years, receive about $685 when they leave the transition areas and be
entitled to funding of up to $2,750 to start businesses.

The agreement also stipulates that the FARC will create a political party that
must participate in the elections of 2018 and 2022, and guarantees to its
political organization a minimum of five of the 102 seats in the Senate and
five of the 166 in the House of Representatives during those two periods.

The most controversial part of the peace deal is a so-called transitional justice
system, which would allow for amnesty and reduced sentences for all but the
most serious crimes.

Opposition to the agreement is being led by former President Álvaro Uribe,
now a senator, and his political party, Centro Democrático. They want to
return to the negotiating table and achieve more concrete commitments from
the FARC. Andrés Pastrana, another former president, also opposes the
agreement.

Francisco Santos, who served as Mr. Uribe's vice president and is a cousin of
President Santos, said the deal would not lead to genuine peace because
many rebels would not face prison or provide reparations to their victims, and
because Colombian democracy would suffer a blow by giving political space to
terrorists.

The agreement, he said, "sends a terrible message to society: Crime does
pays off."

Whatever the outcome, the peace deal and referendum are seen as a
watershed moment for Colombia.

"You don't choose where you're born. You don't choose who your parents are
or which country you have to live in," said Antanas Mockus, a civic culture
expert. "But in times of rebirth you can choose: I want to be reborn in a
Colombia that respects human rights. I want to be reborn in a Colombia in
which nobody uses weapons as a political tool."

The four-year peace process is also seen as important in creating a national
identity in Colombia.

Rodrigo Uprimny, a professor at the National University and member of
Dejusticia, a legal research institute, said Colombia lacked a national identity
because of geography, strong regional identities and the absence of a modern
foundational myth.

"We need a myth that is not aggressive but democratic," he said. "And
nothing is better than a peace agreement reached not through military
triumph but as a result of dialogue and negotiation."

Rafael Pardo, the minister who would be partly responsible for carrying out
the agreement, said the deal went far beyond the immediate aims of the
FARC and the government.

The peace deal, Mr. Pardo said, aims to close the gap between a modern,
urban and liberal Colombia and the other Colombia, which still feels neglected
and poorly represented.

"This is the reunification of the country, just like the two Germanys," he said.
"We have two Colombias."

Achieving that goal will be a challenge in a country long used to war and
disappointment.

"Colombia will never have peace," said Berta Gaitán, 57, who sells sweets in
downtown Bogotá. "They kill and steal," she added, referring to the armed
groups that have ravaged the country. "What kind of security is this? What
peace? I've lost faith."

But Alejandro Franco, 24, a student involved in weekly peace demonstrations,
disagreed. The agreement includes topics that should have been discussed "a
hundred years ago," he said.

He struggles to understand how people can object to the agreement. "If war
is not at the top of the public agenda anymore, that is already historic. Now
we can start talking about important things," he said. "I'm really excited."

[Source: By Paula Duran, International New York Times, Bogotá, 01Oct16]

This document has been published on 03Oct16 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with
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